Various different approaches have been developed for packaging integrated circuits, microelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”) devices, optical devices, magnetic devices, passive electronic devices, and other microelectronic devices. Several of these packaging approaches involve a die attach process wherein one or more microelectronic die are bonded to leadframes. In one common leadframe-based microelectronic packaging approach, the microelectronic die are first fabricated by processing of a semiconductor wafer, which is then singulated to separate the microelectronic die into discrete units. The singulated microelectronic die are then each placed onto the die flag of a leadframe utilizing a pick and place tool. An adhesive is dispensed over the die flag prior to placement of the microelectronic die thereon such that the die is seated in or pressed into the adhesive when positioned on the leadframe. After placement of the die, the adhesive is thermally cured to bond the microelectronic die to its leadframe, and additional process steps (e.g., wire bonding and die encapsulation) are then carried-out to complete the packaging process.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction and may omit depiction, descriptions, and details of well-known features and techniques to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of the invention described in the subsequent Detailed Description. It should further be understood that features or elements appearing in the accompanying figures are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise stated. For example, the dimensions of certain elements or regions in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements or regions to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.